NEW DELHI: With less than a month to go for the Delhi University Students' Union election, almost the entirety of North Campus – from walls to roads, buses and commercial places – have been defaced with the names of candidates, in the form of posters, scribbles, and invitations to freshers.

While leaders of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and National Students' Union of India (NSUI) are using tried and tested methods of pre-campaigning, the All India Students' Association (AISA), as it has done in previous years, maintained that it does not indulge in such politics.

AISA president Kawalpreet Kaur said: "These posters just carry their names, without addressing any of the students' issues."

Lamenting the massive waste of paper on the campus, Kaur said: "No action being taken against any of these people. Year after year, they keep doing the same thing. We are going to complain and request the university to issue certain guidelines about it."

While many senior students remain indifferent to politics in the campus, freshers look forward to cast their first vote. However, many are disappointed by the mess and garbage around them.

"They are stupid to think that we would vote for someone who is ruining public property. Posters are still okay, but painting walls and other spaces is obnoxious," said a first year student of Kirori Mal College.

She added that senior students from ABVP, NSUI and AISA have began approaching freshers and coming to classes to introduce themselves. "Knowing their name is not enough. We will decide who to for vote once the candidates declare their agendas," she said.

Last year, the National Green Tribunal had directed Delhi University to ensure that no paper is used for campaigning on campuses. This compelled the students' political wings to take their battle to social media. Despite this, littering still continues.

However, ABVP and NSUI said they would ensure that the amount of paper used in campaigning is reduced this year.

An ABVP spokesperson said, "We are committed to the protection of our environment. We believe that the least amount of paper should be used during campaigning in all elections."

"This is the traditional way of politics in DU. Candidates do it every year on their own. We will try going paperless this time, so that the walls are not wrecked," said NSUI national president Fairoz Khan.